Offered by Master of Science in Acupuncture with a Specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine Program Teach-Out
Eastern Medicine Department
Dean: Jenny Yu, DACM, L.Ac.
College of Health Sciences
College Dean: Heidi Nelson, PT, DSc, DPT
This program is the Teach-Out of Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine’s (EC or ECTOM) Master of Science in Acupuncture with a Specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine (MAcCHM) program, consistent with the Teach-Out Agreement accepted by ACAHM. ECTOM closed June 21, 2025.
The EC MAcCHM degree program is described within the EC catalog; links to archived catalogs are provided for convenience below.
No new students are accepted into this program; EC’s Teach-Out program is limited to active student matriculants. Eligible EC MAcCHM students consent to continue their former EC curriculum at SCU, consistent with their request to participate as submitted to EC.
Students who consent to continue EC’s MAcCHM program reference this Teach-Out page, as well as the SCU catalog.
Students who consent to continue their EC program as SCU DAcCHM students reference this Teach-Out page, SCU’s DAcCHM catalog page, and the SCU catalog.
[Note: SCU’s own Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (DAcCHM) and Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (MAcCHM) degree programs are described on their own catalog pages.]
The following programs offered by Southern California University of Health Sciences are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM):
(1) Master of Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine
(2) Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine
• including a Doctor of Acupuncture with a Chinese herbal medicine degree completion track
The programs listed above may offer courses via distance education.
ACAHM does not accredit any programs at the undergraduate/bachelor level.
Accreditation status and notes may be viewed on the ACAHM Directory.
ACAHM is recognized by the United States Department of Education as the specialized accreditation agency for institutions/programs preparing acupuncture practitioners. ACAHM is located at 500 Lake Street, Suite 204, Excelsior, Minnesota 55331; phone 952/212-2434; https://acahm.org
Public disclosure statement effective as of 12 February 2025
Pursuant to ACAHM’s Notification of Change Policy, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM or Commission) completed its review of Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine’s (ECTOM) 1.12 substantive change notification and executed teach-out agreement with Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS or Institution), received 30 May 2025 pertaining to closure of Emperor’s College and its ACAHM-accredited programs (collectively, “Closure Documents”).
The Commission found that the Closure Documents meet Commission requirements.
The Commission:
• accepts the executed Teach-Out Agreement Between Emperor’s College and Southern California University of Health Sciences dated 29 May 2025 (“Teach-Out Agreement”) provided in the Closure Documents.
• approves SCUHS to award former ECTOM students admitted under the Teach-Out Agreement transfer credit exceeding limitations outlined in ACAHM’s criterion 5.03: Transfer Credits/Transfer Students.
This program is an on-ground program. While some courses are held online, every term may require in-person attendance in California. See Clinical Experiences in the University Catalog. See State Authorization information in the University Catalog.
The program follows SCU’s standard academic calendar.
EC students who consent to continue their program of study at SCU will complete the MAcCHM or DAcCHM program at SCU consistent with pertinent degree completion requirements. In accordance with the approved Teach-Out agreement, continuing EC students at SCU follow individualized degree completion plans:
MAcCHM - EC Teach-Out
Degree completion plans align with the EC academic catalog, as interpreted by SCU, and may include course substitutions appropriate to the student’s program of study and SCU catalog policies. Upon completion, students will be awarded the Master of Science in Acupuncture with specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine (MAcCHM) degree from SCU, with the notation “Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine curriculum.“
DAcCHM - EC Teach-Out
Degree completion plans align with SCU’s academic catalog, as interpreted by SCU, and may include course substitutions appropriate to the student’s program of study and SCU catalog policies. Upon completion, students will be awarded the Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine (DAcCHM) degree from SCU.
While degree completion requirements and curriculum are per the EC catalog as interpreted by SCU in the degree completion plan (as described above in Degree Completion Requirements), continuing EC students enrolled at SCU as part of this Teach-Out agreement are subject to all SCU policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and requirements as provided for in this SCU Catalog, including satisfactory academic progress requirements, and other terms accepted as part of consenting to continue the EC prorgram of study while enrolled at SCU. SCU makes the final determination in any discrepancies between catalogs.
For reference, the prior EC catalogs as publicly available at the time of closure are linked here. These archived catalogs serve as a reference for the program description, degree academic requirements, program curriculum, and degree completion requirements applicable to each cohort of students.
2016 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2017 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2018 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2019 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2020 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2021 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2022 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2022-2023 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2023-2024 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
2024-2025 EC MAcCHM Archive Catalog
Note: The above links are for convenience only. Southern California University of Health Sciences is not the custodian of record for previous EC catalogs, the academic records or transcripts of prior EC alumni, nor the academic records or transcripts of prior EC students. SCU is the custodian of record for academic records and transcripts of eligible EC students who consent to continue their program of study at SCU.
The obligations pursuant to the Teach-Out Agreement terminate on the earlier of (a) the date on which all eligible EC students enrolled with SCU as part of the agreement have either graduated from SCU or have failed to be continuously enrolled at SCU without approved Leave of Absence by SCU, or (b) five years from the effective date of the agreement, or (c) 31 December 2030 per ACAHM’s Teach-Out agreement approval, whichever comes first.
Note: Southern California University of Health Sciences is not the custodian of record for previous EC catalogs, the academic records or transcripts of prior EC alumni, nor the academic records or transcripts of prior EC students. SCU is the custodian of record for academic records and transcripts of eligible EC students who consent to continue their program of study at SCU.
In-person courses for the EC Teach-Out are held at SCU’s Whittier campus.
See the Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine academic catalog.
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